The prior art discloses many inventions that cause sound to be emitted by striking a hammer, knocker, clapper, or similar means against a tube, triangle or other object. These devices can be differentiated by, but are not limited to, the sounds that they emit, the striking means itself, the object being struck, the method of attaching the striking means to the device, or the method of playing the device.
Handchimes vibrate in an infinite number of ways, or modes, when struck by a clapper. Only a few of these modes cause the surrounding air to vibrate at a frequency strong enough to be audible to the human ear. The lowest frequency vibration, or the lowest pitch, is called the fundamental. The clapper of a handchime drives the generated frequencies.
Like handbells, handchimes are typically sold in octave or multi-octave sets. A handchime, like a handbell, is individually tuned to emit a particular note. Handbells are tuned by removing metal from their inner diameter. Handchimes are tuned by adjusting the length and/or width of their slots.
The handchimes within an octave set vary in cross sectional area depending upon the note the chime will emit. Larger cross-sectional areas are used for lower octave or lower note handchimes. For example, a three octave or 37 note set of handchimes may utilize three different cross-sectional areas. Therefore, in a typical three octave set, 13 notes, which include C4, C.music-sharp.4/D.music-flat.4, D4, D.music-sharp.4/E.music-flat.4, E4, F4, F.music-sharp.4/G.music-flat.4, G4, G.music-sharp.4/A.music-flat.4, A4, A.music-sharp.4/B.music-flat.4, B4, and C5, are considered lower note or larger cross-section handchimes. The balance of the typical three octave set or the remaining 24 notes, C.music-sharp.5/D.music-flat.5, D5, D.music-sharp.5/E.music-flat.5, E5, F5, F.music-sharp.5/G.music-flat.5, G5, G.music-sharp.5/A.music-flat.5, A5, A.music-sharp.5/B.music-flat.5, B5, C6, C.music-sharp.6/D.music-flat.6, D6, D.music-sharp.6/E.music-flat.6, E6, F6, F.music-sharp.6/G.music-flat.6, G6, G.music-sharp.6/A.music-flat.6, A6, A.music-sharp.6/B.music-flat.6, B6 and C7 are considered smaller cross-section handchimes and emit middle or higher pitched notes. The cross sectional areas of the handchimes will change with respect to each other as a three octave set is expanded to 4, 5 or 6 octaves.
Few of the devices disclosed in the prior art allow control over the musical tones that are produced. Ease of playing or the economical manufacture of the device is at the sacrifice of the overall musical quality of the instrument. Lastly, in the devices disclosed that contain moving parts for the striking means, the moving parts are seldom durable over the life of the product.
One objective of the present invention is to produce a handchime of an ergonomic shape that allows ease of holding and long-term fatigue-free use.
It is an additional objective of the invention to fabricate the support shaft for the striking member of a sufficient weight such that it requires no additional weight to obtain the proper impact force.
It is a further objective of the invention to attach the striking member to the main body of the instrument in a manner that allows the musician to set the strike "feel" to their preference yet still allow long life, durability, and ease of operation.
For middle and higher pitched notes or smaller cross-section handchimes, it is another objective of the invention to design the cross-section of the support shaft to correspond to the various timbre settings of the clapper head for flexible voicing yet still allow for quick and easy adjustments without the benefit of elaborate tools.
For lower note or larger diameter handchimes, it is an objective of the invention to allow proper sound generation without any discordant overtones such as "slapping" or "pinging."
Lastly, for lower note or larger cross-section handchimes, it is a further objective of the invention to eliminate the discordant overtone known as "buzzing" by controlling the width and length of the slot.